So, as I write this post, I have the privilege of watching a beautiful young granddaughter bloom and grow each and every day. I have been using all the activities and toys on my website with my little grandbaby since the day she was born. I have seen so many wonderful moments, giggles and curious looks along the way. Let’s talk about Play-Ed.
Why did I decide to call my little business Play-Ed – well simple really: Children Play while being Educated and developed. You are probably thinking “well can’t they grow and develop with all toys?”. Well kind of but not really- here’s an example what can you learn from a barbie doll? You can dress them and pretend play – that is really cool, and it helps with fantasy play – but can you develop gross motor skills (big muscle movement), can you learn mathematical concepts – colours, shapes, sizes, pattern recognition- you can do spatial awareness though.
So why are my toys unique? Firstly, I have done a lot of research and I have studied child development and was previously a teacher with children ages 2-7 and then grade 3 and 6 learners. My toys come with specific guidelines for care givers, to show them how to play with the toy in order to achieve full development. Example- did you from birth a child reacts to sounds? So, one of my toys seen below:
Plush toy rattle – It consists of crinkly paper inside square material, a little squeaker, different colour ribbons around the edges and an animal face and the front and back have different colours and patterns.
Liv has had her little toy since birth- we used to squeak it and crinkle it and move it from one side to the other side to develop her sense of sound. As she got to around a month old she started grabbing it and was fascinated with the sounds, from around 3 months I would tell her about the different colours – the elephant is grey – squeak squeak the toy, listen to the grey back- and crinkle the toy. She then decided she loves the little tags of ribbon and started sucking on the ribbons and rubbing them in her hand- because they are soft- it is developing her sense of touch and different textures. While we were playing with the toy I would tell her the different colours and ask her which one tastes best. I know I sound looney but repetition and playing is all part of incidental learning and is essential to your child’s full development. She still plays with it and is now grabbing it by the handle and when I say “ Shake Liv” she vigorously shakes the toy with a squeal of laughter.
Now I can go on and on, but I have so much more to share. That is why I called my business Play-Ed. This is the methodology I want followed with my toys and each one comes with its own set of guidelines to use. Was this an “oh wow” moment for you?